Devin
How is a finance major's daily life at work like
#college-major #finance #business
3 answers
Pat Fullman
Pat’s Answer
It is difficult to pinpoint what a day-to-day would be like for a Finance Major. Finance is a very versatile degree. There are many different career paths one can take with a Finance degree and workdays can vary. Areas of finance include but are not limited to Investment Banking, Trading, Financial Advisory, Analytics, Financial Media, Financial Analysis, Portfolio Management, Corporate Finance, Asset Management, and Real estate. All these fields can be very lucrative and rewarding but will require hard work and time. Some fields may require very long hours while others may not.
Employers can also affect day to day. Depending on company culture, fellow employees, and one's team can affect the workday dramatically. Some common themes that can be seen across all fields of finance include teamwork, communication, public speaking, and hard work! I recommend trying to get an internship within one of these fields in order to get a deeper understanding!
Thank you,
Pat
Don Sherwood
Don’s Answer
So pick the right company. What is the right company? One word.... high-growth. Not really one word but you get my point.
My career has been in two super high-growth industries - Cellular (mid 80's to mid 2000's) and Software as a Service (mid 2000's to now). Those are transformative industries. When you work in those type companies finance plays a major role supporting the rapid growth, optimizing the best investment, timing and planning.
Early in your career I'd suggest working for bigger public firms to learn best practice. Then move to smaller high growth companies with the potential to go public. Smaller companies is where finance (you) can make a difference.
One example - you know those earnings calls public companies do every quarter? Ever hear about a company missing guidance? Guess who develops that guidance. Finance. Make a mistake and your company may lose many millions (billions...) in market value.
So it's not so much what you do (excel, systems, collaboration, accountability) but how important what you do is. And that depends on the company and how fast they are growing. What's the next big thing? AI, autonomous driving...? Find it, join it, help it.
Austin L.
Austin’s Answer
Hi Devin,
Really great question!! So your daily life as a working adult will be largely contingent on the career that you pursue. Given that you are a finance major, I am assuming you are looking to be employed by a financial institution of some. Working in finance can be an incredibly rewarding career, but be aware that a lot is expected of you in this career. You honestly won't be working a 40 hour week as your work week will often be 55+ hours so that is something to keep in mind. If you want to have lots of free time then a job in finance is not for you. I have friends in investment banking as well as wealth management and they are constantly busy, have their phones on all the time, and get home late. It is a kind of "work hard play hard" lifestyle that many like as well as dislike. A job in finance is non-stop movement and you can expect to be both on your feet and seated at a desk.
Now every experience may vary so do keep in mind that everybody's experience in a financial job is by no means singular and can be quite different depending on the firm. If you want to better understand what your life will be like in a finance job then I would recommend applying for an internship to see what it is like as well as network with current employees. This will give you an idea of what you should expect.
I hope this helps and I wish you the best of luck.
Best,
Austin